Reviewing Robolife-Days with Aino v1.2.1
Final Rating: 5 stars
TLDR: The game is simple compared to some aspirational competitors, but it is well balanced, fun, clean (in presentation, not content), polished, and finished, putting it miles ahead of 90% of its competition in the Trainer/Management VN Genre.
Gameplay: 4/5
The gameplay loop is simple enough, but executed nearly perfectly. It strikes the perfect balance between the two extremes often see in this genre - kinetic novels pretending to have choices, and sandbox games that get so lost in their own unfocused navel gazing that they forget to put an actual game in the 20 page feature list. If you are a Trainer Game aficionado you won't find any surprises here. The game works exactly as you'd expect. Manage a rationed pool of time to gain resources and raise stats to unlock scenes, story paths, and additional content. While there are no grand surprises or novel concepts at play, there's also no unfinished or under implemented resources, no confusing overcomplicated mechanisms, and no grindy time wasting systems. It's a perfectly balanced and obviously play tested system that delivers exactly what it sets out to at a satisfying pace, with enough choice and paths to feel satisfying without wasting your time or losing you.
The dress up mechanic is also extremely well implemented. choices matter and there are enough variety in clothing choices, with stats and skills, to allow you to complete your objective in multiple ways without feeling shoehorned in to one look. While the overwhelming number of skills does risk feeling bloated and confusing, it is saved by being very obvious which choices are optimal, and being very forgiving. You really only need to have one or two related skills to complete an objective, meaning there's no need to agonize over acheiving minmax perfection.
Graphics: 4/5
The art is very polished and professional. Again, while nothing in the game will blow your mind or stick with you forever, you'll never find yourself put off by poor anatomy, wonky perspective, or over all low or fluctuating quality. It gets the job done in a pleasing and professional manner, on par with any mainstream professional studio release.
Story: 5/5
The story is, in my opinion, perfect for the kind of game this is. It strikes the perfect balance between light hearted humor, and actual plot. You'll never be bogged down by pages of worldbuilding lore that no one but the creator cares about, asked to pretend you care about flat bland characters designed solely to be fucked, nor will you be forced to play another psychopath asshole with no morals in a world where handwavium fuels the game and nothing matters. It knows its a porn game, but it also knows a good story needs to provide emotional beats, light character development, and internal consistency. It's not Shakespeare, and it knows it shouldn't be. It also isn't a meme riddled mess that's shallow and dated hours after release, It is, in my opinion, the perfect balance for what it is trying to be.